RNAS Culdrose serves a variety of helicopter and fixed-wing squadrons, such as the Sea King and the Jetstream respectively. Among the features at RNAS Culdrose is the "Dummy deck" which is used to train pilots to land on ships, the Merlin training facility, and the Fleet Requirements Air Direction Unit. Its satellite airfield is RNAS Predannack.

In the United States, a "Naval Air Station" is an air base of the United States Navy. When located in foreign countries, they are often identified as US Naval Air Stations (USNAS), as the term is used by the navies of other countries.

A slightly lower level of air base in the U.S. Navy is the Naval Air Facility. These facilities normally support smaller numbers of naval aircraft. Permanently based naval aircraft are usually minimal, with the principal focus being on supporting naval aircraft deployed from other installations. Examples are NAF Atsugi, Japan; NAF Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory; NAF El Centro, California; NAF Washington at Andrews AFB, Maryland; NAF Souda Bay, Crete; NAF Misawa at the U.S. Air Force's Misawa AB in Japan; and NAF Mildenhall at the U.S. Air Force's RAF Mildenhall installation in the United Kingdom. Base Realigment and Closure (BRAC) actions have resulted in closure of Naval Air Facilities such as NAF Detroit at Selfridge ANGB, Michigan; NAF Lajes at the U.S. Air Force's Lajes AB facility in the Azores; NAF Kadena at the U.S. Air Force's Kadena AB, Japan; NAF Adak, Alaska; and NAF Midway northwest of Hawaii.

There are also larger facilities that are similar to Naval Air Stations and possess large airfield facilities, but were actually constructed as part of much larger facilities or were dedicated to research and development activities. This includes NAVSTA Rota, Spain; the recently closed NAVSTA Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico; the still active Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, California; and the recently closed Naval Air Development Center Warminster, Pennsylvania.

The Navy also operates a number of austere unmanned or minimally manned airfields known as Naval Auxiliary Landing Fields (NALF), Naval Outlying Landing Fields (NOLF), or more simply Outlying Fields (OLF). The vast majority of these fields conduct training operations, either within the Naval Air Training Command in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, or in support of operational units in Fleet Concentration Areas for readiness purposes, such as field carrier landing practice (FCLP).

In the United States, a "Marine Corps Air Station" is an air base of the United States Marine Corps. When located in foreign countries, they are often identified as US Marine Corps Air Stations (USMCAS), following their US Navy counterparts (the Marine Corps falling as a service under the Department of the Navy) as that term is used by the navies of other countries.

As part of Naval Aviation, Marine Corps Air Stations and Marine Corps Air Facilities fill a similar role as Naval Air Stations and Naval Air Facilities for the United States Marine Corps. Marine aviation units are also assigned on occasion as permanently-based units to Naval Air Stations, Naval Air Facilities and, in rare cases, to Air Force Bases and Air National Guard Bases as well.

Like the Navy, the Marine Corps also operates a number of austere unmanned or minimally manned airfields known as Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Fields (MCALF), Marine Corps Outlying Landing Fields (MCOLF), or more simply Outlying Fields (OLF). Since the Marines' flight training is combined with the Navy and the Coast Guard, those fields dedicated to training of student aviators in the southeastern United States remain under Navy control. As a result, the Marine Corps' auxiliary fields support operational Fleet Marine Force (FMF) units for readiness purposes, such as field carrier landing practice (FCLP) for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft embarking on aircraft carriers or amphibious assault ships.

The United States Coast Guard is also part of Naval Aviation and operates its own Coast Guard Air Stations and Coast Guard Air Facilities, either as stand alone installations on joint civil-military airports or Coast Guard-controlled facilities, or collocated at Naval Air Stations, Air Force Bases, Air National Guard Bases and Army Air Fields. Since the Coast Guard has no aviation facilities located in foreign countries, the service tends not use the term "US Coast Guard Air Station" (USCGAS) but will use the term Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) or more simply, "AIRSTA." The Coast Guard also operates a number of smaller Coast Guard Air Facilities, most of which are limited to rotary-wing operations only and support a limited number of aircraft.